BBB-Acadiana Reacts to Calls About Refund Checks From the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Probably NOT a Scam.
Oct 08, 2018 01:48PM ● By Press Release
Better Business Bureau serving Acadiana has received many calls from consumers stating that they received a check in the mail from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Many consumers are worried that this is a scam. However, this is a not scam!
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice announced that they are mailing out 1,179,803 refund checks totaling more the $505 million to people who were deceived by AMG Services, Inc. and Scott A. Tucker, who operated payday lending scheme.
According to the FTC: "Tucker's companies, including AMG Services, Inc., marketed online payday loans with false loan disclosures that did not accurately describe the true cost of the loans. Despite informing customers that they would charge them only a one-time finance fee, they proceeded to make multiple withdrawals from customers’ bank accounts, assessing a new finance fee each time. As a result, consumers paid far more for the loans than they had originally agreed to pay."
FTC gives the following information about AMG Refunds:
o Checks are being sent to consumers who took out loans between January 2008 and January 2013 from these AMG-related companies: 500FastCash, Advantage Cash Services, Ameriloan, OneClickCash, Star Cash Processing, UnitedCashLoans, and USFastCash.
o If you borrowed from one of the lenders listed above between January 2008 and January 2013, you don’t need to do anything. The checks are being mailed to eligible consumers automatically. The FTC and a refund administrator have used AMG’s business records to identify eligible consumers and calculate their refunds.
o If you need more information you can call the FTC at 1-866-730-8147.
Here are some additional tips from the Federal Trade Commission.
o FTC never asks consumers to pay money or provide information to cash refund checks. If anyone asks for money to receive a refund it is a scam.
o Recipients should deposit or cash checks within 60 days.
"Look for the Seal” and Start with Trust®. BBB Serving Acadiana is a private non-profit organization. BBB strives for a trustworthy marketplace by maintaining standards for truthful advertising, investigating and exposing fraud against consumers and businesses.
Please contact Better Business Bureau at bbb.org 24 hours a day for information on businesses throughout North America. Consumers can also sign up for our free BBB “Scoop” eNewsletter by visiting bbb.org and clicking on the “Programs & Services” tab.
BBB Serving Acadiana services the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Landry and Vermilion.
Acadiana Office (337) 989-8726 www.acadiana.bbb.org
